Loading feed-belts for machine-guns



H. H. FARR.

LOADING FEED BELTS FOR MACHINE GUNS.

APPLICATION FILED DEC. 30. I918.

1 ,lO 1 147 Patented Dec. 27, 1921.

3 SHEETS-SHEET I- H. H. FARR.

LOADING FEED BELTS FOR MACHINE GUNS.

APPLICATION Fl-LED DEC-30, IQIB. 1,401,147. Patented Dec. 27, 1921.

3 SHEETSSHEET 2- H. H. FARR.

LOADING FEED BELTS FOR MACHINE GUNS.

PPLI A Fl-LED DEC 30 1918 1,401,147, Patented 1m. 27, 1921..

3 EEEEEEEEEEEE 3- UNITED V HERBERT H. FARR, OF THE UNITED STATES ARMY.

LOADING- FEED-BELTS FOR IMACHINE-GUNS.

Specification of Letters Patent. Patented Dec. 27, 1921.

Application filed December 30, 1918. Sreial No. 268,980.

(FIIlED UNDER THE ACT-OF MARCH 3, 1 883, 22 STAT. L, 625.)

To all whom it may concern Be it known that I, HERBERT H. FARR, Capt, Ordnance Dept, a citizen of the United States, stationed at Washington, D. C., have invented an Improvement in Loading F eed-Belts for Machine-Guns, of which the following is a specificationf The invention described herein may be used by the Government, or any of its ofiicers or employees in prosecution of work for the Government, or by any other person in the United States, without payment of any royalty thereon. I

This invention relates to a device for loading link belts for machine guns, and has for one of'its objects to provide a simply constructed device whereby. loaded shells carrying machine gun projectiles are flexibly coupled by interlocking metal links with the shells coupling the coacting links and serving as pintles or pivots between the contiguous links, to provide a flexible belt-like structure to dispose the shells in condition for feeding to the machine gun.

Another object of the invention is to provide an effectual means for disposing the shells in the interlocking links without the necessity for handling the individual shells or links.

With these and other objects in view, the invention consists in certain novel features of construction. as hereafter shown and described, and then specifically pointed out in the claims, and in the drawings illustrative of the preferred embodiment of the inventionv Figure 1 is a plan view.

Fig. 2 is a side elevation.

Fig. 3 is a detached perspective view, enlarged, of the lowermost link releasing wheel. V i

Fig. 1 is afront elevation.

Fig. 5 is aplan view with the housing or cover removed and the link receptacle in section on the line 55, F ig. 4.

Fig. 6 is a detached perspective view, enlarged of the hopper portion of the link receptacle.

Fig. 7 is a detached perspective view, enlarged of the upper portion of the link re ceptacle.

Fig. 8 is an enlarged sectional detail of the operating mechanism.

c Fig. 9 is a perspective view of one of the link holding cartons.

The improved apparatus comprises n general a holder or magazine for the shells, a receptacle for the links which are to compose thebelt, means for feeding the shells consecutively to the coupled links, and a mechanism for ejecting the coupled-links and shells consecutively from, themachine.

Aplurality of the shells are preferably arranged in a suitable clip device, not shown, as it forms no part of the present invention, for convenience in shipping and depositing in the holder device. Y

The improved device comprises'a base or bed framelO, having a flat upper facefand provided with means such as ears 11 perforated to receive holding screws, whereby the bed and its attachments may be connected to a suitable support or table.

Pivoted at 12 to the upper face of the bed 10 is an arm 13, having a longitudinally directed socket 14 in one side face and a trip projection 15, at the pivoted end. The member 13 is likewise formed with a V shaped projection 16, at the side opposite to the projection 15, and a spring controlled stop pawl 17 is pivoted at 18 to the body 10 and provided with a recess or notch 19 to receive the point of the projection 16, as shown in Fig. 5. Formed in the upper face of the member '10 is a guide channel 20 and slidably disposed upon the body 10 is a plunger 21 having a longitudinally directed rib projecting into the channel 20. Extending from the plunger 21 is a rear stop 22 and a forward stop23 between which the projection 15'op'erates, as hereafter explained.

Extending fromv the base member 10 is a bearing indicated as a whole at 24 to support a shaft indicated at 25, the latter havmg an'operating crank 26 at the outer end and a face plate 27 at the inner end, the

member 27 being coupled to the plunger 21 by a connecting rod-28.

By'this arrangement it will be obvious that when the shaft -25 is rotated by actuating the crank 26, the plunger 21will be reciprocated with its guide rib operating in the channel 20. At its forward end the plunger 21 is provided with a longitudinally directed socket, indicated at 29, cooperating with the socket 14 of the member 13. The shells are indicated conventionally at 30, and one of them is shown in'Fig. 5 with 1ts larger portion bearing in the sockets 14 and 29 with its rear end bearing against the 1nner end of the projection 23. By this arrangement it will be obvious that when the plunger 21 is moved inwardly by operatlng the crank 26, the stop 23 will force the shell forwardly between the sockets 14 and 29 until the stop 22 contacts with the stop 15, when the continued forward movement of the plunger will cause the member 13 to swing upon its pivot 12 and throw the forward end of the member 13 away from engagement with the shell, while at'the same time the projection 16 will move the pawl 17- against the resistance of its spring until the projection 16 passes the portion of the member 17, when the spring of the member 17 will operate to hold the member 13 in its adjusted position, or out of engagement with the shell and also move the member 13 from beneath the opening 59 and permit another shell to drop through the opening and upon the upper face of the bed 10. As the movement of the crank 26 continues the rotation of the member 27 will return the member 21 to its former position and cause the projection 23 to contact with the projection 15 and throw the arm 13 into its former position as shown in Fig. 5, against the resistance of the spring of the member 17, the object to be hereafter more fully explained.

Attached to the shaft 25, or integral with the face plate 27, is a cam 32, and pivoted at 33 to the frame 10 is a trip lever 34 including a forked portion 35 with which the cam 32 engages. By this arrangement it will be obvious that when the shaft 25 is rotated the cam 32 will vibrate the lever 34 upon its pivot 33.

Pivoted at 36 to the frame 10 is a trip wheel 37, having a plurality of notches or pockets 38 in its rim. Extendingfrom the frame 10 is an arm 39 to which a support 40 is pivoted at 41. The member 40 is provided at its free end with a bearing 43 to which a wheel. 44 is pivoted at 45, to the bearing 43.

The wheel 44 is formed with a plurality of pockets or notches 46 in its rim as indicated in Fig. 4. The body portions of the two members 37 and 44.are substantially alike and the inner faces of the pockets may be serrated or roughened if desired to increase the friction. Connected to the arm 40 is a spring47, preferably in leaf form, as shown in Fig. 4. Pivoted at 42 to the base member lOsis a holding pawl 48 including a shoulder 49 to engage the free end of the spring 47. By this arrangement it will be obvious that the wheel member 44 is yieldably retained in its adjusted position by the coaction of the spring 47 and the pawl 48, while at the same time the member 44 can be turned over out of the way into the position shown by dotted lines in Fig. 4, by simply releasing the pawl 48.

Formed upon the outer face of the member 37 is a ratchet device 50, with its teeth equal in number and in radial alinement with the lands between the notches or sockets 38. The free end of the trip lever 34 is formed with a projection 51 extending into the paths of the notches38. The member 34 possesses sufficient resiliency to cause the projection 51 to be forced laterally against the resistance of the material of the member 37 when the latter is actuated. Pivoted at 52 to the base 10 is a holding pawl indicated at 53 and having spaced recesses 54, 55 to engage an adjacent pair of the teeth of the ratchet 50, the lever 53 thus operating a holding or backing pawl to retain the member 37 in adjusted position, or in the position into which it is moved by the action of the lever 34. The member 44 op-' erates as an idler, and freely rotates upon its pivot 45. i

The size of the cam 32 is proportioned to move the lever 34 to a sufiicient extent to cause the terminal 51 to rotate the member 37 a distance equal to the space between one pair of the sockets or recesses 38 at each revolution of the crank.

Bearing upon the upper face of the member 10 is a cover plate or housing 56 secured in position by screws or other suitable fastening devices 58. Formed through the member 56 is an opening indicated at 59, and rising from the plate 56 is a curb-like guide or feed chute 60.

Rising from the chute member 60 is a. combined guide and shell holding device 61, the latter having a stud, indicated at 62, in its lower end engaging a corresponding socket in the member 60. The member 61 is formed oblong transversely .in tubular shape and open at the side next to the open- The member 61 is also formedwith guide ribs 63 to enter theannularchannels 64 at the rear ends of the shells 30. 'By this means the member 61 forms a support or magazine for the shells when arranged one above the other as represented in Fig. 2, with the butt ends of the shells withinthe magazine 61, the lowermost shell being always located within the opening 59 and resting upon the upper face of the member 10 or the member 13 according to the position of the latter. I

The upper face of the member 13 when operated passes beneath the opening 59 and the chute '60 and forms a support for the lowermost shell of the series held in the member 61 when the member 13 is in one position, and when the movement of the member 13 is continued by the action of the plunger 21, as before described, the member 13 will be withdrawn from beneath the opening 59 and permit the next lowermost shell to drop into engagement with the upper face of the member 10 in position to be engaged by the coacting sockets 14-29 at the next action of the crank.

Attached to the base member 10 is a bracket including an obliquely directed upper portion 65, the latter designed to support a link receptacle formed of coacting tubular portions 66-67.

The members 66-67 engage face to face with their interiors registering and with the vfrontedges at one side formed with longitudinally directedrecesses. to form a longitudinally directed opening indicated at 68, so that the interior of the receptacle is visible to disclose thecondition of the contents. Formed in the rear upper portions of the members 66-67 are pockets or seats 69-70, the outer edges of the seats being countersunk as indicated in Fig. 7. Bearing upon the upper edges of the members 66-67 is a receiving hopper 71, having a depending guide member 72 adapted to engage int-he seats 69-70, the outer edges of themember 72 beingdovetailed to correspond to and engage the, dovetailed edges of the seats. By this means the member 71 is retained in position upon the tubular receptacle. Extending inwardly from the upper edge of the member 67 is a stop rib 73 to control the entrance of the links into the receptacle,

The links which form the belt are each formed from a strip of sheet metal, preferably steel, and initially formed as shown in Fig. 11, and stamped from a single sheet of metal, with the minimum of waste. Each link member initially comprises tongue-like portions 74, 75 and 76. It will be noted that the tongue 76 is opposite the space between the tongues 74, 75. To complete the link the tongues 74, 76 are bent into cylindrical shape to correspond to the body portion of the shell as illustrated in Figg12, while the tongue 75, which is preferably shorter and narrower than the tongues 74 and 7 6, is bent into a cylindrical socket corresponding to the smaller diameter of the slug engaging portion of the shell and con- 7 forming to and adapted to closely engage the tapered portion of the shell between the charge engaging larger portion and the slug engaging smaller portion. The two diameters of the shell are thus closely engaged by the sockets 74E-75 of one link while the socket 76 of the same link engages the shell between the sockets 74-75 of the adjacent link; By this arrangement it will be obvious that when a plurality of the shells are disposed through the sockets of the links,

the links are coupled in belt-link form with the shells forming the pintles or pivots of the links. The principal object of the presexpeditiously and automatically insert the shells and move them outwardly as fast as the shells are disposed Within the links, the result being a belt formed of a plurality of links and shells as illustrated in Fig. 12. At their lower ends the receptacle members 66-67 are curved as shown at 77 to form a chute-like structure to guide the links into position .to consecutively enter the notches or sockets 38 of the member 37, as shown in Fig. 8, while the idler member 44 with its notches 416 is caused to rotate by the movement of the links when the member 37 is actuated, and thus hold the links and the shells which are deposited therein in engagement with the member 37 during the feeding action. By employing the stop rib 73, means are provided for preventing the in-. troduction of the links except in one position, or with the sockets 74-75 extending downwardly, the space between the inner edge of the rib 73 and the opposite face of the member 67 corresponding to the diameter of the smaller socket 75. By this means it will be obvious that the links can be deposited in the receptacle only by disposing the smaller socket 75 opposite the stop rib 73.

To expedite the introduction of the links into the receptacle they are first deposited in proper position with the smaller sockets 75 in vertical alinement within a carton or holder illustrated at 78, in Fig. 9. The member 78 may be of paper or other suitable material and by opening the carton at one end and permitting thelinks contained therein to flow into the receptacle through the receiving hopper portion 71, they will pass downward by gravity into the position indicated in Fig. 8, with the lowermost link within the adjacent socket 38 of the member 37. The lowermost link will thus be disposed in alinement with the forward pointed end of the shell 30 which for the time being has been deposited between the members 13 and 21, and partly within the alined cylindrical portions 74-7 5 and 76, and then when the crank 26 is further rotated the shell will be forcibly moved endwise to a certain extent by the engagement of its rear end with the stop 23, and forced partly into the coupled links. This movement continues until the limit of the stroke of the connecting rod 28 is reached, and at the return movement of the rod the plunger will. be moved rearwardly withdrawing its forward end from engagement with the shell. In the meantime the forward movement of the plunger has caused thestop 22 to engage the projection 15 and thrown the member 13 over in position to receive another shell, the latter extending in an oblique direction between the previously deposited shell and the member 13, and at the continued re turn movement of the plunger 21 the stop so will engage the projection 15 at the opposite side and return the member 13 to its forward position carrying the obliquely disposed shell previously mentioned against the shell which hasjust been forced forwardly by the projection 23 and throwing the latter over into the path of the plunger. During this movement the cam 32 has been disposed in position to actuate the lever ill and cause its projecting terminal 51 to actuate the wheel 37. It will. be i'iotcd that the shell first deposited will have been disposed by this movement with its "ear end in the path of the plunger 21, so that at the nextstroke of the plunger the shell will be forced to a'still further extent into the lowermost link which has been moved into position in vertical alinement with the pivot of the member 37. At the next revolution of the crank 26 the operation will be repeated and the second shell forced into the sockets of the second link, and so on continuously so long as there are shells in the supporting magazine 61 and links within the receptacle 6667. In the meantime as the operation continues the links with the shells coupled therewith are ejected consecutively, the shells and links forming a flexible beltany required length as illustrated in Fig. 12.

When the belt is used in a machine gun the withdrawal of the shells after firing action releases the links consecutively and they drop from the machine, the belt being thus disintegrated as fast as used. I

Having thus fully described my in iention, what I claim asnew and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United Statesis:

1, In a device of the class described, a receptacle for shell supporting links comprising a tubular member having a flaring intake, and a stop within the intake to control the entrance of the links into the receptacle.

2. The combination with a supporting base having feeding wheels mounted thereon, of a receptacle for shell supporting links comprising a tubular member to receive the links and discharging at the entrance to the feeding wheels.

3. The combination with a supporting base having feeding wheels mounted thereon, of a receptacle'for shell supporting links comprising a. tubular member to receive the links and discharging at the entrance to the feeding wheels, and a stop at the intake end of the receptacle tocontrol the entrance of the links into the same.

l. The combination with a supporting base having feeding wheels mounted thereon, of a receptacle for shell supporting links comprising a tubular member to receive the links and discharging at the entrance to the feeding wheels, said receptacle having a flaring intake, and a stop at the juncture of the flaring portion and the body of the receptacle to control the entrance of the links into the same. I

5. The combination with a supporting base, of coacting notched wheels, means for intermittently rotating one of said wheels, and a receptacle for shell supporting links discharging between said wheels.

6. The combination with a supporting base, of coacting notched wheels, means for intermittently rotating one of said wheels, a receptacle for shell supporting links discharging between said wheels, and a stop at the intake end of said receptacle to control the entrance of the links into the same.

7..In a device of the class described, a supporting base, coacting feeding wheels carried by said base, a bracket carried by said base, and a receptacle for shell supporting links in coacting semitubular parts attached to said bracket and discharging at the entrance of the feeding wheels. 1

8. In a device of the class described :1 Supporting base, coacting feeding wheels carried by said base, a bracket carried by said base, a receptacle for shell supporting links comprising a body portion in coacting semitubular parts attached to said bracket and discharging at the entrance of the feeding wheels, and a feed hopper at the intake endof the receptacle and connected to the same. 7

9. In a device of the class described, a receptacle for shell coupling links, a stop extending into the interior of the receptacle to control the entrance of the links, means for disposing shells through said links to form pintles thereto, and means for ejecting the coupled links and shells. v 10. In a device of the class described, a receptacle for shell coupling links in coacting semi-tubular portions, each portion having a half socket, and a feed hopper bearing upon the intake end of said receptacle and having a depending web engaging said sockets.

11. In a device of the class described, a receptacle for shell coupling links in coacting semi-tubular portions, each portion having a half socket, a feedhopper bearing1 upon the intake end of said receptacle an having a depending web engaging said sockets, and a stop extending into the interior of the receptacle at'its juncture with the feed hopper.

12. In a machine of the character de- HERBERT H. FARR. 

